Fire Emblem : Dawn of Agony
by CristhalEngells
Summary: If nobody in Tellius had any clue of Hatari's existence before Queen Nailah arrived, why would have they been aware of other continents surrounding them? Tale of a new war that changed some of our heroes lives and brought them far from their homes. (Involves OC...)
1. Prologue : Unclouded Memories

_Prologue : Unclouded Memories_

_Daein Keep, 4 years before today _

_I heard a loud scream, coming from one of the neighboring hallways. I admit it, the voice frightened me. What was happening? I could barely believe that it truly belonged to whom had let out such a sinister cry... _

_So I ran back to the throne room, where we had – at last – defeated the Mad King. Ashnard. _

_"Madness! This just CAN'T be! I swear, my eyes left the body for a second, no! even less than that! He cannot just be gone!"_

_The scene could have been funny to watch : once again, Shinon and Gatrie were arguing because the first one had failed at doing his watching job._

_"Admit it, Shinon! You fell asleep, didn't you? Come on! You only had to watch over a dead man!"_

_I ran to separate them, and that was enough to make them freeze, as if they had just heard the sinister cry. In fact, they had just **realized** that they had heard it too. _

_"Stop it, both of you."_

_To see their two almost panicked faces fix me was something of the most funny, yet horrible kind ; the same thought had gone through our minds. Who had we sent in that hallway to search for other hidden enemies? Only one man, and not the strongest, physically. _

_I remember having thought that if anything bad was to have happened to him, I would have damned myself a thousand times. _

_"The king could never have moved by himself, there must be somebody else in here," said I, as I ran in the direction of where the sound had come._

_Shinon followed, with a loud complain, and Gatrie did his best to move as fast as us. _

_However, the scene we found, when we finally saw somebody, was far from what we had expected, and stopped us in a second, still too far to be able to act, except for Shinon. Two silhouettes : the farthest, facing us, was none other than Soren, who looked down on the other, who was laying on its knees, and turning its back to us. However, the man's armor and hair clearly identified him as Ashnard, and none of us could believe it._

_"It can't be, it simply can't be! He's supposed to be dead!" whispered Shinon, taking his bow, as our companion seemed completely paralyzed in front of the king. _

_Ashnard turned a little bit to look at us, which drew Soren's eyes at the same place, and like those of the Mad King, they met mine, filled with a fear that I could not understand. My friend's gaze went down on the apparently dying man again as his raucous voice rose._

_"F...Forgive me, S...Soren... It's all my fault..."_

_As soon as I made a movement to draw my sword, Soren's eyes brutally lifted up on me, casting me a glare that simply paralyzed me. What had the king told him, I had absolutely no idea, but I could read in his eyes all the confusion that had taken over his mind. When I think about it, Soren was just an opened book, for me ; nobody could read him as easily as I could...not even him... Or so it seems, to me. _

_At that moment, he had no idea of what to do and what to think of the Mad King. Not anymore._

_"Ike!"_

_I looked away from my best friend to see Shinon, aiming at the man's upper neck. One side look from him was enough to confirm that he was ready to slay him at the first sign of hostility.  
><em>

_"Ike!"_

_Soren's calls seemed desperate, and a doubt concerning his faithfulness invaded my mind for a second. As I can recall it, it was that precise doubt that made me believe in the hate towards me that my eyes saw, seven months ago. _

_Suddenly, as if he had seen that I was refusing what he pleaded silently, he made a little step back, apparently terrified. _

_That's when I realized that Shinon was, in fact, aiming right above Ashnard's head. At Soren's heart._

_"Is he truly aiming at you, Soren? What are they to call themselves friends of yours, if they aren't even able to recognize your faithfulness? My boy, you look so tired. Don't worry, though. You shall get a good rest soon enough."_

_I don't know exactly why, but the king's words did not seem very nice to my ears, and triggered a sudden anger in me. Maybe because I felt that my friend was in a great danger. _

_I gave Shinon the signal to shoot the madman, and immediately drew Ragnell while advancing towards our enemy._

_Surprisingly, Ashnard easily avoided the volley and stood up, as if he had never felt better, even though some of his wounds kept bleeding. However, distracted by Shinon, who kept aiming at him, he did not see me come... You can imagine the rest, I think._

_Standing still, like he had done for the whole scene, with that same confused look in his eyes, Soren did not say a word. He only watched the body fall heavily on the castle's floor. His breathing was extremely fast, and hastened even more as I got a little bit closer to him._

_"Soren?"_

_I cast him a questioning glance, but his eyes were empty, and he did not even see me._

_"Soren? Are you alright?"_

_When I saw his face get even paler than usually, I knew what was about to happen. I caught him right before he hit the floor, and as I lifted him up, something fell from his sleeve. When I turned back to see what it was, I saw a little trinket thing. A small stone, enclutched in a silver ring. As I picked it up, I wondered where I had seen it before, and did not even notice how dark was the energy flowing inside it. And as neither Shinon nor Gatrie had seen it, I chose to hide it, and ask Soren about it later._

* * *

><p><em>"Is he gonna be alright? He is as pale as dead..."<em>

_To see Mist express such concern was no surprise : she always cared about everybody... Why didn't she help? I don't know. But, I must admit it, I was even more dread than her, and impatient for Rhys to tell us what was the situation._

_When the healer finally came out of the tent, I was nearly eating my own fingers from nervousness._

_"Is he sick?"_

_Rhys shook his head._

_"No. He just seems completely...drained. Exhausted. He looks like he hasn't slept for a few days. Let him rest, give him calm, and he will soon get better."_

_I gave a loud sigh, finally able to stop worrying._

_"Thanks, Rhys," said I before entering the tent, with his approval. He knew I was not going to allow Soren to be disturbed. _

_As all the others had gone to their own activities, I felt myself relax, even though my friend was still as pale as before. In his sleep, he kept mumbling nonsense about him not being beorc (okay, I know, that one was perfectly true), and the Mad King being some kind of thing that I did not understand, since the word he used was nothing I had heard before in our language. It sounded just like a word taken from one of his magical incantations, with such harmony flowing in it that it seemed to roll gently on his tongue as he stressfully spit it out. _

_At one point, I sat beside him, and that seemed to calm him a little bit. I looked down on his sleeping figure, and, unable to detach my eyes from his apparent vulnerability, couldn't help but wonder about his origins._

_"He looks so young, so frail... To think that we are approximately the same age... It's like he hasn't grown up yet... And still, he is so strong... "_

_A slight movement interrupted my thoughts, causing me to startle, which surprised my companion as he came out of his torpor._

_"Hello, Soren."_

_He opened his eyes, but shut them immediately after ; the daylight was too bright for someone who had slept for so long. _

_"Hmm... Ike?"_

_I stood up as he made a motion to sit on the bed. His arms seemed to refuse obeying him, and they bent over as he fell back on the pile of clothes that served as his pillow._

_"How are you feeling, Soren?"_

_He breathed deeply, as if bracing himself for an upcoming pain, or a hit. And with one effort that seemed like the one needed to lift a horse, he tried to sit again. Another failed attempt. As I helped him achieving his goal of the moment, he briefly answered._

_"To be honest, I feel like a good two hundred horses stomped me..."_

_When he had secured his position, he gave me a quick, nervous glance, obviously afraid of what was coming next. _

_"W...Are we at the camp?_

– _Yeah."_

_It was strange, being able to feel his fear. It was the first time he ever reacted that way with me, and I had not even thought about it a second that it might have been because of what had happened before we arrived in the hallway where he and Ashnard were. I was so obsessed by the small pendant that I had not even realized what had happened down there, where we had finally slain the Mad King (for real, that time) while he was standing, filled with dread. Even though it could have been obvious, I had not realized yet. But I wanted to know. However, before I could ask him anything else, his voice rose again._

_"Who brought me back?_

– _Me."_

_He seemed strangely uncomfortable with that news. And I guess he had detected my impatience, because he immediately spoke again, and confused himself in apologies for the earlier events._

_"Ike, I'm sorry for what happened out there. I tried to take him down, but magic wouldn't do anyth..._

– _It's okay, Soren._

– _I did not..._

– _Stop it, I said it was okay!_

– _But I feel bad for having been such a burden!"_

_His loud protest attracted a little attention from Rhys, who suddenly entered the tent, and Soren nearly had a heart attack from the surprise._

* * *

><p><em>I never had any other chance to speak to him alone for the rest of the day, and I found myself completely unsatisfied when dawn arrived. I therefore decided to pay him a small visit when everybody else would be asleep. I knew he would still be up, working on his reports for the campaign : he was not the kind of person who could just let things not completely done and go to sleep, even if he had been dying for some rest.<em>

_In fact, when I entered the tent, he looked like he had expecting me. Like he had been **waiting** for me to come. All of his work was already done. On his table, the only thing that laid open was a small black book I had never seen before, but that was filled with writing of his, and all the other papers had been carefully sorted away in a corner, ready to be taken to whom they were destined to, on the next morning. _

_"I know you have it, Ike."_

_My blood stopped coursing through my veins for a second, as I detected some kind of hostility in his words._

_"Give it back to me," said he, standing up to face me. His stance somehow intidimated me, maybe because I felt confined to a small parcel of the tent while he seemed to have an absolute control over the rest. _

_I handed over the pendant, and as soon as he got it back, he hid it in his sleeve without even giving it a single look._

_"What makes it so precious to you?_

– _I need to study it. I am not sure of its purpose yet. But if you have it, I cannot analyze it precisely. _

– _You did not answer._

– _Ashnard had it. And I think it is somehow related to my inability ot harm him with my magic."_

_Strangely enough, his answer did not sound as convincing as he would have liked, but I made no comment, as I did not want to bewild him more than he already seemed to be. _

_"Tell me when you find out what it is, and what use we can give it."_

_It was all that I said before turning back to exit the tent, but right before, Soren caught my arm to stop me._

_"Thank you again, Ike... Forgive me, please, for what happened there. I shall get stronger. I promise."_

_He then released me, and I made a movement to get out of his tent before my mind made me turn back. Suddenly, I had realized that something had happened in between the two of them before our barging in the room. Seeing I was not leaving, he gave me a questioning, yet somehow annoyed look._

_"Say, Soren..._

_- What do you want?"_

_I nearly expected for the word "again" to complete his sentence, judging from his expression at the moment, but he had suddenly seemed to realize that he would have acted in a rather displeasing way towards me, and probably thought that he couldn't allow himself to do that after what I had done for him. I saw his features darkening while he lowered his head._

_"What happened out there?"_

_He remained silent for a moment before letting out a single word for an answer._

_"Nothing."_

_The fact that he refused to give up the reason of his confusion was truly annoying me, and I thought a second about seizing his shoulders to shake him into telling me what was wrong with me. But I held myself back, making another attempt to learn more about the earlier events._

_"Did he try to harm you?"_

_He gasped, but kept his eyes low._

_"You saw him as well as I did. Had he wanted to kill me... I would have been dead long before your arrival."_

_I saw him squeeze his eyes shut and clenching his fists, obviously trying to hold back his emotions, whatever they were (because I truly have no clue of what exactly he felt at that moment). _

_"No. I was the one who attacked him, and it did not do a thing."_

_He was ashamed, or so it seemed to me. I did not understand why he was always putting so much pressure on his shoulders, but he had obviously failed to meet his own objectives. I was about to ask him what had been the source of his trouble, but he continued, so I remained silent, as having Soren reveal you something personal of his own will was something of the rare kind, and had to be respected._

_"He... He just seemed...fascinated by me... I don't know why, but he seemed somehow...familiar."_

_That was when he suddenly met my eyes with a dark gaze, and suddenly moved up to me and seized my arm again. But this time, he was looking at me directly, even though he was unable to conceal the newly born rage tears that reddened his eyes even more._

_"Promise me you won't tell anybody else about this, Ike. Please._

_- It's alright, Soren. If you don't want me to tell anybody, I respect your wishes. But don't feel too bad because of what happened. It is not your fault if you hadn't slept well and let yourself get troubled. You had so much to do, we should have helped you."_

_Soren lifted his eyebrows in an expression that was probably saying "you don't know that, but I had slept a whole lot and like a log, last night." However, I did not notice it, as I was getting tired and wanted to get to my bed. He noticed that I was getting sleepy, and let go of my arm to turn his back on me._

_"You can go to sleep if you want. I won't try to hold you if you want to go. But hear me, Ike: I promise I shall get stronger. I won't be a burden anymore. You won't have to worry about me. I promise you, Ike."_

_As his tone seemed to allow no reply from my part, I thought he simply wanted me gone, but if I had to live that moment again, I would have stayed to comfort him : it was easy to see, the next morning,_ _that he had not slept at all. So, almost satisfied with what I had learned, I went back to my tent , where I spent a long and peaceful night. Those dark, dreamless nights I cannot enjoy anymore, to the point I dream of such nights during the days. Worst is, I think I am slowly sinking deeper, day after day, without even being able to identify what is pulling me down..._


	2. First Chapter : From Dawn to Dusk

First Chapter : From Dawn to Dusk

_It is said among clergymen that there are bad death angels, who, by pure cruelty or by wish for more power, come at night to claim the souls of the unprotected and sick young living, making them die before their time._

_Light they are said to fear, for shade it would lift from their anonymous faces._

* * *

><p><em>Mercenary Fort, Crimea, 274<em>_th__ day since the commander's return_

Under the dark morning sky of what was a day that many mercenaries dreaded because of the painful memories it brought back, Mist was the first one who dared putting a feet out of her cabin's cozy warmth. A light smile on her lips, she met with the cold, the rain and the wind, and yet never seemed to let go of that brave joy she held daily, regardless of the misfortune that was upon them since a few months already. Oh, she knew what day it was, but that year, instead of mourning from dawn to dusk, she had taken it upon herself to change that day's meaning for the whole group, and to make it a day that would remind them of both life and death. Her heart filled with all the hope she had, she gave her father a prayer, asking him to protect her brother, and then made her way to his cabin, stopping on the way at the great hall to take a small basked filled with food. When she entered the cabin, her smile grew larger as she saw Rhys' sleeping figure collapsed on the chair next to Ike's bed. The young healer gently shook him to wake him up, and he startled her as he nearly jumped awake. The brown-haired young woman let out a small laugh at his astonishment.

" Good morning, Rhys. "

It took the healer a few seconds to fully wake up and answer.

" Hello, Mist. "

Rhys hastily moved out of the way to let Ike's sister sit down, and he went to check out the time outside.

" The weather is still horrible, outside... " commented he in a low voice before turning to see the young woman bending over her brother.

" He woke up four or five times, during the last night ", stated the frail red-haired man. " Screaming. After that, before falling asleep again, he was delirious. Hadn't it been for that horrible weather outside, I would have left immediately. He gave me the creeps, truly, Mist. He was mumbling some very dark incantations in some occult language. Had he been given with any magical talents, he would have damned us all.

– Oh. That **is** strange. But Ike doesn't know any spell, nor has he learnt any other language, so how could he have been reciting incantations?

– And in his...calm moments", continued the bishop, ignoring the young woman's question (as he did not know any answer to it), "he kept moaning, and speaking, also. Although it was mostly nonsense and though I did not get all of it, it seemed to me that « Soren » and « black book » were words that often came back... "

Mist's gaze had darkened, as if, while Rhys was finishing his tale of the frightening night he had just lived, all the hopes she had put in that dark morning had vanished. Silence took the whole room during a short while, as both were staring at the hero with empty gazes, until Mist chose to break the taboo that had surrounded the whole affair since too long.

" Rhys... Do you think that this is because of what happened to Soren? "

There was, between the young woman's question and her confrère's answer, a new silence, one that seemed like it would never end. His eyes never went up to meet Mist's, who were fixing him with an intense and nervous look.

" No. It did not help, I admit it, but I don't believe it is what causes everything that happens to him. "

There were so many questions left without any answer that were following that young woman every day... Rhys could not help but to see how strong Mist was, as she alone had kept a spirit, a hope that nobody had ever dared to show during the last months.

He envied her. Oh, he was not jealous, no. He simply aspired to be a little more like her, in order not to fail protecting his friends once again.

Mist did not notice the melancholy in the priest's look, too busy examinating her brother, looking, like every morning, for any physical sign that could indicate what it was that affected him. Rhys suddenly saw Oscar and Titania walking towards the main hall, outside, and he decided to leave, thinking that the young girl would probably appreciate some time alone with her brother, especially on the very day that reminded them of their father's death. When he opened the door, he heard Titania giving a command to the few who were up and outside at that nevertheless late hour of the morning :

" Give the word, all of you. If, by some kind of miracle, Ike ever wakes up with all his head, DO NOT tell him what damned day today is. Understood? "

Giving the valkyrie a last look, Rhys went out of the cabin, to meet with the deputy commander and report in what had happened during the night.

Shortly after the clergyman had left, Mist took one of Ike's large, calloused hands in hers.

" Ike... Please fight, come back to us, no matter what it is that put you in this state... I know that today is an horrible day, but it can become one of the most beautiful, if you heal, if you wake up fully well... Please, Ike... Don't let us down... "

She began shaking him a little bit, in a vain attempt to trigger some kind of reaction from him.

" Come on! ANSWER ME! DO SOMETHING! "

She then took his hand again, squeezing it the hardest she could in between her small palms, shaking as she was trying to hold back that sad frustration she felt.

" You cannot do this to me, Ike! YOU are the strongest of us both! You alone! Without you, I would not have gotten through father's death... "

Tears began flowing down her cheeks, as she let loose the emotions she had been holding back all that time during which she had forced herself to hope instead of mourning

" Don't let me down, Ike.. Don't you dare leave me alone! Do you realize that, if you die, I won't have any family? You cannot let me down... WAKE UP, IKE! For the goddess' sake... "

She suddenly let go of his hands, letting herself fall on her knees, and eventually ended up on her side, curled up, shaken by uncontrollable sobs that seized her whole body. Faced with her lack of power, she could not hold back those dark feelings anymore.

However, an irregular form in the floor, right under the bed, quickly attracted her attention. Her tears took minutes before drying, but her hand took less than an instant to reach for the suspect spot. She lifted the little piece of wood, which left a hole in the floor, that was nevertheless impossible to see, since it was under the bed.

Mist took a little longer before risking her hand in the hole, as if she had been afraid to find there some kind of half-living monster that was ready to devour her. After a long hesitation, she finally slid her hand, very carefully, in the small cavity, wondering what she was about to find in it, but unable to refrain the horror-like scenarios her mind had created.

Her hand touched a cold, yet soft object, and her fingers quickly took grasp of the flat, leathery surface before taking it out. It was only when the relatively large, long and flat thing found itself in front of her eyes that the young girl realized what it consisted of.

" A book? I did not know you had such a notebook, Ike. "

She carefully examined the soft, black, leather cover of the object before giving in to her curiosity and untying the laces that kept it shut, in order to open it.

The first page she saw was filled with a strange drawing : a kind of magic seal, in which she could recognize a familiar mark. Her fingers ran over the design ; she felt nothing in particular. She then turned the pages quickly, back to the first one, noticing in the way a few more drawings, oddly shining with pale green, yellow, red and purple shades. She tickled when she touched them : they were filled with magic.

She then examined the notebook's first page, and immediately realized to whom it belonged as she recognized his writing.

" Soren's journal... Soren's black book! It that what you were talking about, Ike? You know the solution is in there, am I not right? "

Even though her brother did not answer, a hopeful smile appeared on her lips.

" You'll see, Ike, I'll find it faster than fast! And we will save you, no matter what it is that affects you! "

When Rhys saw the young girl coming out of her brother's cabin with a somehow radiant smile on her face, he could not help but wonder what had happened inside that had made such a hopeful joy appear on her features, and immediately went back in there to see if Ike had done anything special.

A joyful Mia stopped Mist on her way to the main hall, dancing as she stepped around in the opposite direction.

" Hey, Mist! You've remembered as well! It is today!

– Huh? Today that what?

– Oh, come on! I know you remember! Why would you be smiling, otherwise! We'll welcome a miraculous visitor!

– Oh, did you truly believe in what that no-good fortune-teller has told you?

– She did not know any of us, and was not from around either! How could have she known for him? It seems clear to me that she gave us a real prediction of the future!

– I don't want to disappoint you, but it's past midday already, and this miracle of yours hasn't given any sign of life. Normally, when people do important things, they do it during these hours.

– Well, I'd rather hope than let myself fall into despair!

– Well, hope in vain. I have other things to do. "

Mia gave the young healer a cold stare, suddenly feeling like hitting her for being so down-to-earth and mean.

Mist pushed her aside to enter the main hall, where she found a dark silhouette sitting before an uneaten meal.

" You should eat.

– I feel helpless," answered the green-haired mercenary, while staring at the plate with an empty gaze.

"If you are thinking about what is happening to Ike right now, I can only tell you that you are INDEED helpless. But it's not a reason to be so depressed. You begin to look like Soren, when you stop eating.

– I don't.

– I know you don't like to be compared to him, but it is still as I say. You should eat, Sothe.

– What is taking you today? Don't tell me you believe in that miracle foretold by that gipsy woman!

– I did not believe a word of what she said.

– Then why do you hold such a smile?

– I found...something. You would not understand if I explain it to you, but, to make it short, I know it will allow me to save my brother. Now, eat. I have work to do. "

She had found another way to smile, although it was such a dark day... But, on that day, she was not the only one who held hope for her brother to live. Never did the rain cease pouring down on the mercenary camp. But never did Mia let go of her hope to see a somehow shining form emerge from the darkness that surrounded them all. And never did Rhys leave her side, waiting for her sadness to overcome all hope, waiting for the pieces of her armour to fall, so he could gather them all and put them back together, like he had done with many others in the camp. Did she have a good reason to hope? He could not help but wonder. And when dusk came once again, engulfing the base in what would be another long, very long night, he could easily see that the trueblade had once again lost all hope, when she went to bed as early as the others had – except Shinon, who had gone to drink, as usual – and with tears in her eyes.

"I've been such an idiot! I should never have believed such a stupid prediction!" cried the girl, as she threw herself in her bed, feeling silly about the hope she had held so strongly before, and yet, a part of her was not ready to let go of it, although everything tended to prove her that she had been wrong.

The healer knew better than to go and try comforting her immediately, and so he let her go away, simply staring, wondering if he could help in any better way. But as good as a keeper he had been for the sick commander – he had watched over him ever since he had become unable to stand up by himself –, he had been given with very little sleep, and fatigue had soon taken over him on that dark night, making him fall asleep before the main hall's fireplace. However, when the fire suddenly was blown out, allowing darkness to seize the room, something told him to wake up, and he soon was outside, in a yet unexplainable state of panic. Was he about to become mad, or was there truly a great, dark force approaching? The frail healer soon got his answer when he saw three dark silhouettes walking towards the only cabin that was still filled with light at such a late hour.

"Ike! No!"

The truth was that Rhys had not spent every of the previous nights at the commander's side because he was longing for a sign that would reveal his illness. As he had been educated among the church, he had heard, ever since his childhood, that death would sometimes strike those who were weakened and vulnerable, but that still had many years ahead of them. Those sick young living who were not protected by light.

"No, this can't be! Damn! Why have I let my guard down?"

He took out a page he had torn away from a powerful light magic tome as he began running towards the three shadows, and began channelling the magic to make sure he would repel them in time.

"Stop!" said the man as he threw the spell at the intruders.

However, the light energy was soon annihilated as the tallest of the three silhouettes lifted an arm and blocked it with a burst of dark magic. The priest brutally stopped his course when the same being met his panicked eyes with its scarlet red stare, that was filled with a strange anger.

Although the shadow was not taller than he was, Rhys felt himself shrink when such a fierce gaze hit him, and he soon found himself fearing for his own life before the three foreigners. It was that moment that one of the two others shook her companion's arm to attract his attention and make him stop intimidating the red-haired priest.

"Stop it, he will not harm us. We scared him, and that's why he attacked us. Hey! Why do you keep staring at him that way?"

Before the obviously scared man, the smallest silhouette among the trio politely bent her back as a greeting, while the other one went in between Rhys and the red-eyed one to disturb them, as well as to clarify their intentions.

"Sorry for our late arrival, apologized the middle silhouette, revealing a soft voice that could not help but comfort the healer. I know it is not common to have visitors arriving in the middle of the night, but we would like to see sir Ike, if it is still possible. It's a life-or-death question, might I add.

– Forgive me, but Ike is not in a state to talk to anybody right now.

– Oh, but I know that. I heard he is in a bad state, and we came to see if there is anything we could do to help."

The frail man's surprise was hard to hide, and a second thought for Mia immediately came to his mind : was she the miracle foretold by the gipsy woman? He could not believe in such a coincidence, but although he was deeply troubled, he quickly regained his senses and questioned the woman:

"Excuse me if I seem rude, but may I ask you where you got your information?

– Simple. A woman told me. Apparently, she had seen a girl that looked pretty desperate about it. And here we are, after a long day filled with work. I hope we are not too late.

– No… He is still alive.

– Then tell me about how he came to be in the state in which he is. I'm not asking for a cause, don't worry. I only want more details about how his health grew over the last months, sir…

– Rhys. My name is Rhys.

– Nice to meet you Rhys."


	3. Second Chapter : Midnight

Second Chapter

Midnight : a Sparkling Light in the Darkness

"Are you telling me that only seven months have passed since the beginning of all this?"

Rhys was puzzled by the woman's attitude towards their hardships of the previous months. Had she expected a longer delay between the beginning of the commander's illness and the worsening of his state?

She obviously had noticed the priest's troubled look, as she immediately apologized.

"Forgive me for what I said. Although I must say I had expected that a man in his state – nothing will be certain until I see him myself, by the way – had passed maybe the last three or four years in a barely better condition, I admit that the problem seems serious enough to be dangerously threatening his life."

As mistrustful as Rhys was towards the three strangers, he had not yet allowed them to enter the cabin in which the commander was resting – or was he? However, he could not keep them away for much longer : they were there to heal him, or so the girl had said. Even if he still did not trust the trio, he had no choice but to lead them inside the small room.

The smallest of the three silhouettes was the first one to enter, although she let the one who was obviously a woman sit beside the sick man. Ike suddenly began to moan and move when the taller one stepped inside. The woman immediately turned to him, and after a few seconds of visual confrontation, the red-eyed stranger turned back to leave. As soon as had disappeared in the dark, Rhys gave a questioning look to the remaining two, who uncovered their faces to reveal a young woman and a young girl. The deep green eyes of the woman met those of the priest as she responded with a mild smile.

"There can be many reasons for your friend to have reacted that way to his presence. It could be because of the large, dark aura he radiates. Many people feel threatened around him because of that."

The green-eyed healer started channelling light magic energy in her hands – in order to evaluate the sick man's state –, under the attentive eyes of the red-haired man. She let out a small cry of surprise when a hand suddenly tried to seize her wrist.

"Whoa… What in the world is taking him?"

The young woman did not seem to find it funny, unlike the mercenary and the purple-eyed girl.

"What do you think is affecting him?" asked the young girl, still smiling in amusement, to the older one.

"_Heighjar, Melia,_" hissed the blonde, as an answer, before catching sight of the change in Rhys' expression, which meant he had understood that she had said "corruption" in the archmages' language. She then continued talking to her young companion in a different language, one that the red-haired man could not understand.

"_C'est la seule chose qui peut produire cet effet en si peu de temps. Mais je n'en suis que peu sûre. L'autre est trop nerveux et, du coup, je ne sens rien qui provienne du malade lui-même…_

– _Est-ce que je peux t'aider d'une façon ou d'une autre?_

– _Si tu pouvais le faire sortir, ça m'aiderait à m'assurer de mon diagnostic._

– _Et tu feras quoi si tu as bel et bien raison? Tu es trop fatiguée, ce serait dangereux pour toi de…_

– _Je sais, je sais. Je verrai ce que je ferai, le cas échéant, mais je ne ferai pas de connerie… _

– _D'accord. Je reviendrai plus tard… Une fois qu'il se sera endormi, et que je serai certaine qu'il ne reviendra pas de sitôt, je veux dire... __"_

The young girl lifted up her large, purple eyes on the priest, who was confused by the only word he had understood in what the two strangers had discussed about. What was this "corruption" they were talking about? Moreover, it had seemingly created a small tension between the two girls, but why? He was brought back from his thoughts by a small contact on his arm and a charmingly innocent smile.

"Excuse me, sir, but could I ask you for something to drink? And no alcohol, my dear mother strictly ordered me to keep myself away from that."

He took a moment before answering, suddenly getting lost in the child's somehow enigmatic eyes.

"Hum, yes, of course you can. I will go and get you something."

As the last mercenary who was awake and in the camp went outside of the cabin, suddenly forgetting every suspicion he had held in the two strangers, the young girl turned to give her companion a wink, for which she received a mild smile.

"Huh, I think I'll go and…escort him. See you later… mother."

As soon as she found herself alone with the mercenary, the young woman lost the calm and confident look she had held for the whole time before. As her eyes, filled with some kind of fear, went down on the man to examine him from the shoulders to the tip of the toes, her whole body began shaking. She gave her trembling hands a sad look.

"I haven't eaten enough in the last days… I haven't slept enough as well… If you truly are affected by the black venom, I won't be willing to do anything for you, you know? Ah, but I don't feel anything in you, even if they're both gone… What could be affecting you, then? I thought you were possessed, at first, but it would take a very powerful being to be able to hide itself from me like that, and it certainly would have made you become completely mad immediately after..."

He made another swift move to catch hand when she channeled the light magic into it, and once again, she quickly avoided it. Her eyes were still filled with the same fear, mixed with anger, when she looked down on him again.

"Maybe you are simply mad… That would be the goddess' punishment for your deeds, although I don't know enough about you to be informed about most of them. In that case, I could have arrived too late to save you… It wouldn't be my fault, if your companions hadn't asked for my help earlier enough…"

Her gaze completely filled itself with anger as she stared down on Ike again, while he was blindly searching for her with a hand.

"Is it true, what the others are telling about you, or aren't they only blindfolded by your nice looks and don't see the monster you truly are?

She violently hit his hand to repel him when his fingers gently caught her cheek, on which tears had begun running down.

"You couldn't be different. Otherwise, you would not be in this state. In that case, there is only one thing I can do to stop your pain, and that is finishing you."

* * *

><p>"<em>Can you really be trusted, or are you also hiding a dark, hideous side beneath your respectable act?"<em>

_The clear voice echoed in Ike's mind while he opened his eyes to be blinded by the radiant light that had appeared before him. _

"_Hey! What have you done with Soren? He was there, right before me, a little while ago, and you were with him, as well as Rhys and somebody else! Hey! Won't you answer?"_

_As he slowly stood up, his eyes were growing used to this new light in his perfectly dark world. The blue-haired man tried to step towards the source of the light, but failed, as it moved to flee from him. _

"_Stop playing me like that, that's not funny at all. Where are you?"_

_He soon found out, by searching around him, that what had once been a nothing but a mass of light in his darkness was slowly turning in a frail silhouette that was, in fact, right in front of him. _

_The blonde hit him hard when he tried to touch her, fascinated by the light that emanated from such young and tired traits. He moved back while she did the same, and when he dared looking at her again, he saw only the top of her head, and nothing of her face. She was trembling, but he could not tell if it was in fear, anger or anything else._

"_I am afraid your state might only be the result of the madness created by the evil you represent or have been. And I cannot accept to put myself in danger to heal a monster such as you."_

_He was face to face with a woman whose tone was harsh, and he could not help but try and move towards her, protesting._

"_No! I am not a monster! I never wished for his death! "_

_When he made a step forward, she moved backwards by two, finally meeting his gaze with her own. What he saw in front of him was a pair of sparkling emeralds that were filled with torment and sadness._

"_Every of them, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! told me the same thing. Why would you be different, and, most important, why should I believe that? What could tell me that you are sincere, unlike them?"_

_She suddenly turned her back on him and began walking to leave the place. As soon as she began to get farther, darkness began to surround the young mercenary again. Moved by the tears he had seen running down her cheeks, he had remained frozen for a small while before reacting to her going away._

"_Hey! Wait! Couldn't you at least tell me who you are?"_

_She halted her walk for an instant._

"_What would that be for? You will die…"_

_Without waiting any longer, the hero of Tellius began running towards the woman, ignoring the pain that took his exhaustingly heavy body at every of his movements, and ignoring the shadows that were gathering around him, all of a sudden, trying to make him stumble and fall. _

"_Wait! Haven't you told me that you could save me? At least, tell me who you are!"_

_When she realized how close he was getting, she began running, but it was too late. In a colossal effort, he grabbed her wrist to hold her back, and it was only then that she let out a loud cry of pain as the shadows assailed her to disappear in her body._

* * *

><p>The young woman held back a shriek when Ike suddenly seized her wrist, and she began struggling frantically against the tight grip he had on her as every ounce of the dark energy that was in him was transferred into her frail body.<p>

When she finally found herself able to free her arm, an intense pounding in her head was making her unable keep her eyes open, although her thoughts were still clear enough for her not to be too confused.

"Was he…possessed? How…? How could he withstand such a pressure on his mind? Most would have immediately become mad…"

She discharged all of the energy she had channeled into her own body in an ultimate effort to make the pain stop, although it was already too late, as she collapsed on the young man, losing consciousness.

When, a little while after, Ike woke up, still puzzled by the meaning of his last dream, he found a strangely bright world around him, as he had gotten used to seeing his surroundings getting darker day after day, during his slow descent in the abysses. Many times before, things had looked like they were about to get better. Many times before, his hope had been deceived. But this time, he knew it was the beginning of a new dawn for him. He knew he was out of the bottomless pit he had been thrown into. What remained was to know who had taken him out of it.

Although he felt strong and perfectly well to do anything, he made no move to stand up, as there was a little weight on his stomach, a little weight whose weak and cold breath went through his fingers and made him shiver.

"Mist…" thought he, as a little smile appeared on his lips.

However, when his fingers softly went through curly locks, he realized that it could not be his sister.

Puzzled, he lifted his head – and only his head, as he was trying not to awake the sleeper – and was surprised to find a blonde head laying on him.

He immediately recognized the woman in his dream when his eyes scanned the frail, pale silhouette that was partly collapsed on him and whose whole body was shaking. Panic immediately took hold of him : who was she, and why was she there, laying on him that way? He could not remind himself of anything that involved her, except that bizarre dream from which he had just awoken.

"Damn, could I have done things without knowing it? Oh, I hope I haven't… Damnit! I can't remember anything!"

The young man forced himself to remain calm as his eyes went down on the trembling young woman for the second time. The last thing he wanted was to wake her up before having remembered who she was and why she was there. That was why Hhis heart began racing when he saw her begin to move, and he froze when she slowly opened her eyes, finding himself unable to detach his gaze from the two emeralds filled with sadness that had just appeared.

When the young woman moved away in a sudden movement, curling up on the chair, the mercenary was startled as well, and the two were left speechless, each considering the other with an uncertain look. He was the first one to speak, although he failed to make any complete sentence :

"Did I… I mean… You know… Did we…"

She gave him a frown as she tried to figure out what he meant, and raised her eyebrows, her eyes rolling, when she understood.

"No."

The blue-haired hero let out a loud sigh in relief, but suddenly felt like he had been rude (or something of the kind) when he saw her frown again. He began offering profuse apologies, clumsily trying to put things right.

"I did not mean to insult you, and I don't think that you are ugly or that you look like a… You must understand! Ever since I was young, I've been afraid of doing, while being…not really conscious of it, some things that I would not do while being fully conscious. And I wouldn't have…I mean, I don't even know who you are, so…"

Her gaze went away to stare at through the window as she interrupted him brusquely, obviously annoyed.

"It's okay."

As he found himself searching for those two shining green eyes that were staring at him right before, Ike, while moving to sit instead of lying down, mechanically apologized :

"I. am. sorry."

Strangely, the young mercenary's reaction seemed to provoke in her a kind of aversion towards him, and she did not hide anything as she stared at him like he had been some kind of foreign creature.

"Sorry for what?" asked she, brusquely, before fleeing his gaze once again.

"Well… I don't know! It's your expression that makes me feel like I did something wrong!" responded the man, as he kept looking at the fair-haired healer. "Worst is, I don't even remember what happened before I found you sleeping on me, so I don't know what I could have done to upset you that way!"

"You haven't done anything wrong, so don't worry about that."

The glare the young woman sent to the head of the Greil Mercenaries was filled with anger, but it was not enough to make him look away. However, it ended up annoying him, and he responded with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

"Then why are you so upset?"

It was only then that the blue-haired man stared down, realizing that losing his composure was only a good way to upset her even more.

"Sorry again. That was rude from my part. I usually have better manners than that. Please forgive me."

The girl was still looking away, but her anger had suddenly vanished, leaving all the room for sorrow to appear once again in her beautiful eyes.

"I told you it was okay."

He saw the frail woman bite her lips in anger as her body began trembling again, and his eyes found themselves sticking on marks on her left wrist – bruises –, which she held close to her. A look aside was enough for her to remark the attention he was suddenly giving her, although she waited a little bit before reacting, suddenly beginning to fear the man who was tirelessly staring at her with eyes that she could not decipher.

"Am I the one who did you that?"

"Stop staring at me that way!"

Worry. It was worry she saw in his gaze, although she had not yet realized it. But she had understood his question, he knew it, and her silence was speaking more than her words could have.

Under the healer's puzzled look, the mercenary stretched out his arm to grab a small container that was on the bedside table. Then, he untied his headband and, still holding it, reached out for her arm. She moved back, trying to get out of his reach, clearly afraid.

"Please. I know, for sure, that I owe you my life, and yet I was rude enough to hurt you. I cannot heal you instantly, but let me do what I can to help."

Although she was reluctant, the frail young woman slowly stretched out her shaking arm towards him. As she expected for him to take her hand eagerly, she startled when his fingers touched hers, but it was very carefully that he took her pale, small palm on his.

"I won't hurt you, I promise… But you might feel a little itch."

The girl forced herself to stop trembling, even though it was obvious that she was not reassured at all. However, he kept talking to her, even if she did not say anything, while he applied she ointment on her bruises.

"I know it seems stupid to apply something like that on bruises, but trust me, it does work. Soren was tired of seeing me with so many bruises – I don't really care about myself, when I fight, so I often end up with many of these –, so he prepared this for me, and it's a real miracle. Well…"

He sighed, and his eyes went up to the ceiling as he failed to notice that, for the first time, she had laid a curious look on him, as if the mention of the mercenaries' former strategist had aroused her curiosity. However, when he looked back at her, with a mild smile on his lips, he only saw her stare at her left wrist in concern. There had nevertheless been a complete change in her attitude towards him, from the moment he had pronounced the name of the former strategist of the Greil Mercenaries.

"I don't know why I'm telling you about him… It's not like you could know him, and it's not like I could present him to you… After what happened, I would be surprised to find him alive… No matter how clever, nobody could have made it out alive of a fight with such a demon, unless they were of the same kind… That being said...we would not have survived either, hadn't it been for that injury he inflicted him…"

While the man finished covering her wrist with ointment, his blue eyes went down to contemplate what he had done, and the full-of-concern look of the fair-haired young healer easily saw the sadness and guilt that were in those sparkling sapphires. He however quickly regained his composure, and he put the finishing touch to his work by tying the piece of cloth around the frail forearm.

"Is it too tight?"

"No, it's just nice. Thank you… But now, please let go of my hand…"

"Here you go."

The young woman had a shy smile on her lips as she got her hand back against herself, and Ike could not help but feel like he had just won a great battle, although his own reaction surprised him. His amazement grew when she suddenly uncurled to sit properly on the chair and, like a perfect lady, bend over before introducing herself.

"My name is Leona, I was asked to come here and heal you. Sorry for not introducing myself before now."

"I… I am Ike, leader of this group of mercenaries that was founded by my father. I'm pleased to meet you."

It was her turn to examine him, halting at his face's height to scan his eyes more thoroughly, and it made him feel slightly uneasy. However, it did not last long, as she soon revealed what she had been searching for by asking him :

"This Soren you were telling me about… Who was he to you?"

"He…was my best friend… I was the only one he had… And I let him down, treating him like a traitor while he was only trying to save me…"

Seeing his gaze emptying itself upon thinking about the mercenaries' former strategist, the fair-haired healer lowered her head, thinking about something that obviously was bothering her. She had the look of somebody who knows something that one might want to know, but that one should not know, for his or her own sake. A few minutes later, her concerned look tried to catch the mercenary's eyes, but failed as he was too lost in his thoughts.

"Hey…"

Unsure, she reached out for his shoulder, but changed her mind on the way, and withdrew back to safety. Instead, she raised her voice a little bit.

"You told I couldn't know him… But I do happen to know a Soren… We found him in the castle's courtyard, he was near death… Somehow, he survived… probably because of his blood's awakening… It sure sounds like an odd coincidence to me…"

As the blue eyes of the mercenary slowly went up to meet the two sparkling emeralds of the young woman, they slowly lost their sad cover, instead filling themselves with an unutterable astonishment that soon morphed into joy.

With a burst of laugh, the man jumped out of his bed and seized the frail lady to lift her in his arms, squeezing her so hard that she was out of breath when, a few seconds after, he carefully let her down. As she tried to take it back, it was easy to see that she had been scared by him jumping out of his bed to seize her that way.

"It can only be him, it couldn't be anybody else! He's alive!"

The girl did not seem to share his joy, and she waved her arms while she regained her breath, trying to get him to calm down as she tried to get ahold of her panic. He soon noticed her lukewarm reaction.

"What is wrong?"

"He may come back here, someday, but don't expect anything great from him, Ike. He forgot everything from his previous life. When he woke up, he did not even know what his own name was."


End file.
